Cleansing Ethnic Strife

It is here that the Indian navy ships have anchored. Relief does go to the Tamils but is routed through the Sri Lankan government. And Indian doctors are providing medical help. But this too in camps not controlled by the LTTE. "We are here to provide aid to the people but we are under strict instructions to only liaison with the government agencies," says a Indian navy doctor deployed here.

As a rule, the Sri Lankan army stays out of the tsunami relief camps run by the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO). After the tsunami, as Colombo started taking stock of the damage in its coastal areas, there was no news from the LTTE-controlled areas. Soon the TRO, widely believed to be a front for the Tamil Tigers, set up relief efforts in a bid to parallel the Sri Lankan government’s initiative. On the ground, LTTE cadres say "our leader (read Prabhakaran) has sent us to various parts of the affected areas to ensure that the Tamil population is looked after." At a TRO-run relief camp in Kuchuveli in Trincomalee district, the overall incharge, Maran, even claims that "our leader has announced Rs 30 crore as relief for all those affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka". He quickly points out that the money isn’t restricted to Tamils.

Meanwhile, disbursement of relief material is a prickly issue. The Sri Lankan government lodged a protest when international aid was dispatched directly to the TRO. "A certain government did send aid directly to the LTTE but in an effort like this, the government can’t be bypassed," foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar told Outlook. On the ground in the TRO camp, Maran claims that no relief effort has come from the government.

A glimpse of how the security establishment in Sri Lanka thinks can be gleaned from the attitude of the Lankan navy deployed in the region to oversee relief efforts. Commander U.I. Verasinghe, commanding the naval base in the region and now overseeing the relief operations, ensures that his men keep out of the TRO camp. Verasinghe was a former member of the elite Special Boat Squadron which carried out extensive operations against the LTTE. At home, he also carries the burden of a younger brother paralysed by an LTTE bullet. And yet, he is keen on peace. "If the government asked us, we would make every effort to crush them. But we believe in peace and the ceasefire has been effective so far, so we will continue to make efforts to improve the situation." As people pick up the pieces after the natural disaster, there is hope of relief from the man-made one too which has spread strife in the region for decades.